Weighting textile materials



Patented June I 15, 1937 UNITED. STATES PAT N OFFICE ama Mammals Herman S. Boslanil, Paterson, N. 1., casino! to Stein, Hail & Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing.

- 14 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of fibrous materials, more particularly textile materials, and to a newand improved method for finishing such materials. It especially relates to the weighting of textile fabrics. I

In the treatment of materials such as cotton it is customary to subject the cloth to soap scouring, kier boiling, mercerizing, and bleaching prior to dyeing or printing. The bleaching and scouring 1 action sometimes causes the cotton to lose to or even of the natural gums and oils. To regain this weight the cotton has heretofore been treated with loading or weighting materials including metallic salts, such as magnesium 15 sulphate, calcium chloride, or similar compounds, or sugar. Many objections have been raised to the use of such metallic salts and in some countries it is forbidden to import materials containing them. Sugar is objectionable because it caramel-- 2O izes in the mechanical finishing processes of drying, ironing, steaming, pressing and the like. Moreover, sugar is also objectionable because it is too hygroscopic.

It is also common practice in the textile industry to add various substances to the fibers to make them pliable and soft, e. g., oils, fats, glycerine, and the like. Ordinary dextrins, thin-boiling starches and similar materials, if used to coat the fabrics produce a hard finish.

Both of the foregoing treatments are herein referred to generically as finishing treatments because they are applied at the last or finishing stage of manufacture.

It is to be observed, however, that there are a number of points of distinction between weighting and the various fulling and softening treatments. For instance, weighting is especially important in finishing textiles made from natural fibrous materials, such as cotton, which lose weight during the various processing steps. A

fulling and softening treatment might be advantageous, however, on any type of textile material which tends to be stiff, including artificial as well as natural materials. In present practice, as

will be apparent from the foregoing discussion,

the weighting materials are quite different physically and chemically from the softening agents. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide new and improved compositions for finishing textile materials in which the ingredients of the finishing composition are the same for weighting or softening, although usually different in proportions and concentrations. Another object is to provide compositions which produce both weighting and softening effects. A

Application September 8, 1988, Serial No. 99,875

further object is to produce fibrous .materials containing new and improved. finishing compositipns. Another object is to provide a method of producing softening effects on textile materials without the use of sulfonated oils, glycerine, or other customary softening agents. Another object is to provide a method of weighting or finishing cotton materials with compositions which do not yield an ash content on burning and which are free from the objections inherent in the use of metallic salts, glucose, sugar and similar materials. Another object is to provide a new and improved method of finishing textile materials with the aid of amylaceous products. Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In accomplishing these objects in accordance with the invention, it has been'-found that new and improved results in the treatment of flibrous materials, more particularly in finishing, and especially in weighting, such materials, may be obtained by the use of compositions containing a water-dispersible, film-forming substance or binding agent, preferably a starch degeneration product, and urea. The mechanical steps may be the same'as those now used in the art, and any other method may be used as long as the materials are suitably impregnated, immersed, or coated with a composition of the character described.

It will be recognized that the type of composition employed may vary, depending upon the desired results. For weighting it is preferable to employ a composition containing a major proportion of urea and aminor proportion of binding agent. The amount of the composition applied to the fiibrous material will also vary depending upon the results desired, and in the case of a mere fulling or softening treatment will usually be relatively small, as, for instance, 4% to 6% by weight of the material, while in weighting it may be relatively large, for example, 20%.to 40% by weight of the material.

The invention will be further illustrated, but is not limited, by the following examples, in which the quantities are stated in parts by weight:

Example I A weighting composition was prepared by heating together a mixture of 50 parts of a modified starch, 50 parts of urea and 200 parts of water, to a .temperature of about to about 200 F. for 15 minutes.

A gingham material which had previously been scoured, kier bofled, merecerized and bleached in the usual manner for cotton material was then passed through this finishing bath and' dried.

It was noted that the material had gained 38% a in weight and a relatively stiff finish was obtained.

Example I! Y Twenty-five (25) parts of a modified starch were mixed with '15 parts of urea and 200 parts of water. and heated to 180 to 200 F. for 15 minutes. v

10 A gingham material similar to thatused in Example I was then immersed in this composition at a temperature around 140 to 150 F. and dried. It was noted that the materialhad gained 33% in weight, possessed a soft finish and a nice feel.

5 It was not soggy, as is often the case when similar material is finished with weighted gums containing glucose, sugar and the like, or metallic salts such as calcium chloride. No caramelization or browning effect was noted on drying, as

20 in the case where sugar compositions are used. When the material was burned no ash content due to the weighting composition was produced.

In a similar manner other compositions may be prepared in accordance with the invention, with gs va yi proportions of urea and amylaceous matter; It is usually preferable to employ a starch degeneration product, by which is meant a derivative of starch such as may be obtained by the various .proceses of making thin-boiling and so- I 30 called soluble starches and dextrins. In general, especially good results have been obtained with specially modified starches. By a specially modified starch is meant a starch degeneration prodnot which, after having been colloidally dispersed 35 in water, yields a dried protective film-of suitable physical characteristics for the purpose involved. border to obtain these characteristics and to form so-called solutions suitable for textile application, ordinary undegenerated-starch is suit- 40 ably degenerated in part, or modified, by various- As previously indicated, the proportions and concentrations of materials may vary depending upon the type of material treated, and upon other related factors. In the compositions of the invention the ratio of solids to water is preferably 60 greater than 1:4 and very good results have been obtained in weighting with a ratio of solids to water of about 1:2.

The amount of urea will be determined to some extent by the amount of water because the maxi- 65 mum amount of urea will normally be less than the amount required for saturation under ordinary temperature and pressure conditions. In

weighting textile materials, it has been noted that the use of major amounts of urea and minor 7 amounts of binding agerfrts normally gives softer and more pliable materials than equal amounts of urea and binding agent; or smaller amounts of urea and larger amounts of binding agent.- (Cf. Examples I and II.)

75 The amount of the composition retained by the materiaktreated will depend largely upon the concentration of the bath and the time of treatment. Ordinarily the bath may be either hot or cold, butin some instances it is desirable to use a relatively warm bath.

It will be recognized that a wide variety of auxiliary agents may be added to the compositions herein described. Among such addition agents may be mentioned fullers earth, bentonite, wetting, penetratingand dispersing agents, 10

for example, sulfonated oils, higher alcohol sulfates (e. g., dodecyl sulfate, cetyl sulfate, and similar compounds), diethylene glycol, glycerine and related substances. The proportions of these materials may also-vary, depending upon the type .of treatment: and the material treated.

In preparing the various compositions, it is preferable to prepare a dry blend of binding agent and urea as "a base material. This blend is marketed in dry or powderedform and requires .ment as herein described are cloth, fabrics or flexible sheet materials made from cotton, linen, wool, asbestos, glass yarn, cellulose esters and ethers, and regenerated cellulose prepared in any suitable manner, e. g.,- by the viscose, nitration and cuprammonium methods. It will be recognized that the weighting treatment applies particularly to cotton and materials which lose their natural oils and waxes in processing.

The use of a binding agent, and especially a starchy material, in conjunction with urea in fin- 40 ishing fibrous materials, has many advantages over the use of the binding agent or urea per se. Thus, it has been proposed to finish textile materials by a treatment with urea solutions and thereby to reduce the infiammability of the material. Ithasalsobeenproposedtouseureaaswell asa large number of other organic compounds as swelling agents for cellulose acetate to render it more absorptive to dyes However, the use of urea alone does not .fulfil the functions of the 5 combination of urea and starch or starch degeneration products. Better fulling and softening effects are obtained'by this invention and, in

duce softening efiects by using substances such 00 as sulfonated oil, glycerine and the like, insofar as is known, the use of, and the advantage of using,

. urea in conjunction with binding agents has not heretofore been suggested. It may be noted that urea has the special advantage. over sulfonated stance, urea and water, the amoimt of urea being at least equal by weight to the amount of amylaceous substance.

2. A textile weighting composition consisting of a major proportion by weight of urea and a minor proportion by weight of amylaceous substance.

3. A textile weighting composition consisting of an intimate dispersion of about twentyfive to about fifty parts by weight of a starch degeneration product and about fifty to about seventyfive parts by weight of urea in about two hundred parts by weight of water.

4. A textile weighting composition consisting of an intimate dispersion of a dextrin, urea and water, the amount of urea by weight being at least'equal to the amount of dextrin.

5. A textile weighting composition consisting 01' an intimate dispersion of a dextrin, urea and water in which the amount of urea by weight is substantially greater than the amount of dextrin.

6. A textile weighting composition consisting of an intimate dispersion of a modified starch and urea, the ratio of modified starch and urea varying from about twenty-five to about fifty parts of modified starch to about fiity to seventy-five parts of urea.

7. A textile material weighted and finished with an intimate dispersion consisting of an amylaceous substance and urea, the amount of urea being at least equal to the amount by weight of the amylaceous substance.

8. A weighting composition consisting of an intimate dispersion of a starch degeneration product and urea in water, the amount of urea being at least equal to the amount of the degenerated starch, and the amount or water corresponding to a ratioof solids to water by weight within the range of about 1:2 to about 1:4.

of approximately 3:1, said amylaceous material being the sole or substantially the sole binding constituent of the composition.

10. A weighting or finishing composition having an amylaceous material as its sole or substantially its sole binding constituent. said composition containing urea in an amount at least equal by weight to the amount of amylaceous material.

11. A textile weighting and finishing composition having an amylaceous material as its sole or substantially its sole binding constituent, said composition containing urea in an amount in excess of the amount of amylaceous material- 12. The method of weighting cotton cloth from which at least a portion of the natural oils has been removed by previous processing treatments which comprises applying thereto a composition having an amylaceous material as its sole or substantially its sole binding constituent, said composition containing urea in an amount at least equal by weight to the amount of amylaoeous material. I

13. The method of weighting cotton cloth from.

which at least a portion of the natural oils has been removed by previous processing treatments, which comprises applying thereto an intimate dispersion consisting of an amylaceous substance I of amylaceous material.

HERMANS. BOBLAND. 

